I originally picked 6.5-06 but wanted to chamber the Ackley Imp version instead , BUT after reading all 30+ pages i have now setteled on the 6.5 Sherman. Thanks Rich. McM is ordered and so is the Rock #3. Now just cant wait till the parts get here and then off the Karl for fluting then off to the smith for the finishing and cerakoting. Man o Man I cant wait. Like a kid at Christmas.

How many grains of powder does the 6.5 Sherman use to get what velocity for bullets? Just curious. I think barrel life may well be about the same as a .264 Win. Mag; maybe less.

Hi Bart! I currently have 1500 rounds thru my Sherman and it still shoots 1/2 moa or less. I shoot 63-64 grains of Retumbo, depending on the brass, for 3150' with either the 140 Berger or A-Max. 62 grains of RL 25 will accomplish the same as well as several other powders. This is with a 26" barrel. It will top out at 3200', but brass life is short at those pressures. (cmantha) on this forum also has one and I think he will confirm the velocities. He only has around 200 hundred rounds or so on his......Rich

A lot of people have posted to this title and I hope you won't mind if I add my two cents worth. I don't own a .260 Remington, but have seen a a couple perform, one at a long range class at Whittington to 1,280 yards. I was amazed at how well it did at that really long distance. I used a 6.5 x 284 for that class and have owned a 6.5 Remington magnum as a light mountain rifle since the mid 1970's. I am familiar with the .264 Winchester magnum and am aware that even larger cases than that are necked down to 6.5, but the reason for this escapes me in terms of the incredibly small gain in velocity to be gained and the incredible erosion you receive at the throat. Of course if your gunsmith's name is "DAD" and you don't mind setting a barrel back every 4-500 rounds this might not seem to be too much of a problem.

Everyone knows in HI-Power shooting that barrel life of a 6.5-284 is 1,000-1,100 rounds. That's it! Any larger case equals more throat erosion, some have radically worn out throats which equals poor accuracy and a rather substantial amount of reduced velocity. If your not worried about reduced velocity with this size bullet (120 to 160) then it might be time to rethink you priorities. The 6.5's work very well with 140 grain bullets which requirea 1-8 twist, also . When you take a .284 case and realize that you only have 1,000 rounds of useful accurate barrel life in 6.5, but use that same case in its full size, .284, and gain a huge increase in useable life of that chambering, it should be obvious that case capacity is the max for all practical purposes for the 6.5. Anything larger, plan on talking to "DAD" more often, if your an active shooter.

I do believe if your case capacity is larger and you prefer to use a larger case you would be much better with a larger, heavier bullet (7mm, .30 or .338). While I could hit the 1,280 yard target with my 6.5 x 284 the unarguable difference between the impact of a 140 grain bullet at that distance and a 180 from a .300 Ultra was almost laughable in terms of how vigorously that steel plate reacted when hit with the .30 caliber, heavier bullet moving at higher velocity.'

So, even though I do not own a .260 rifle I am impressed with the performance for its size and almost certainly a 6.5-06 is almost overrbore already for this size a bullet.

You're gonna love it!
This is the first 6.5 anything that I have shot and it is way fun compared to the 300Wby. The round count is up to a little over 500 now. I think I need to go to the bulk packs.
I used Rich's load of 63gr Retumbo/140 Berger @3150 for 2011 hunting season-outstanding! For rocks and gongs-140 Nosler Custom Competition bullets with 60gr H1000 coasts along at 3050. Both will hold 1/3 Moa past 1000yds.
One of the nicest things if you get the Hornady match die set is they fit Rich's reamer to a tee. Sizing barley moves to brass at all.
I guess the best thing I can say about it is I am going to have another one built when I can.
Cliff